Hikozaemon, Kitahachi
Background Kitahachi was born to Hisato and Yumi Hikozaemon in the year 79 A.F. Born son of the Lord of the Hikozaemon clan, his future was to be harsh. As a mere infant, he was loved as any child would be loved and taught as any other Hikozaemon child. His toddler years however, he oft spent with his father. He was taught about Acanthus, their god deity, (who he had unknowingly been named after). He was brought to many cultural events, such as prayers, feasts, anything of the like, to allow his young mind to soak up what he could. Upon reaching the age of three, he was given a younger sister by his parents, one whom he grew to like, and love as an older brother would. Upon reaching the age of four, Kitahachi’s father enrolled him in the academy. Once he was five, he began to learn about chakra and jutsu, basics that an older academy student would learn. As the academy did not teach children so young these things, he was taught by his relatives and clan mates. Loved by most of the clan, few members refused to pitch in when asked. He was harshly scolded when wrong, and hardly given gratitude when correct. As his skills and swift learning became more evident to his teacher, he was soon moved up; he was to go through the shinobi classes within the academy at the age of seven. Now being retaught what he had already learned, his knowledge and mastery over said subjects only increased. New things and old things were taught, and friends and enemies were made. Some were resentful, or jealous of him, for he was a mere seven year old, keeping up with nine and ten year olds. Soon enough, two boys confronted him, and silently dragged him off as he left the academy. His current Shinrai was completely unaware, until he was gone through the crowd. They attacked him, even attempting to slice his eye. It worked, yet his eye was barely missed. Blinded by the blood that dripped into his eye, he dropped to the ground screaming; kicking and punching until he fell unconscious. Hours, he lay there, until finally his younger sister found him there, with the help of her Shinrai. The clan's searching had gone on since he was supposed to leave the academy, and he was finally found. His eye turned out to be okay, yet the cut left a scar. A constant reminder of what happened. He answered no questions the next day, and quickly enough the questions were forever stopped. His days went on then, yet he was more isolated from others. His learning and training continued, and as he became nine and began to learn the basic jutsu, so too, was he taught the Kinsetsu Burēdo technique. He learned quickly, and on his birthday, two months before his genin exam, he was to be given his Kaiin no Gishiki. Being the Prince of the Hikozaemon, his test was to be harsher than others, as his sister’s would be too. He was taught how to survive alone, and he was taught about the wildlife of Kusagakure’s forests. Everything he needed to know was taught to him throughout the month prior to his test. Once his tenth birthday arrived, he was brought into the forests three days travel from the village. “You have a week, Kitahachi… Don’t fail me,” his father said, before merely disappearing. He had left his child alone in the wilderness. The moment his father was gone, he began a cautious journey towards the village, eyes constantly watchful for any sign of wildlife. Deer and rabbit were killed and cooked for food, berries and other easy to find vegetables were found. He knew what was poisonous, what wasn’t. What was killable, what would cause him to flee. He was alone, and four days later, he caught sight of the village. Kusagakure. His home, finally. He had returned home in one piece. Then, he was given a mere day’s rest before being put to the test once more. He needed to show he was capable of combat, that he wouldn’t die simply. Six fresh Hikozaemon genin faced off against him. Each was carelessly knocked down, defeated in groups of one, two, and three. With his success, a heated poker in the shape of the Hikozaemon symbol was pressed into the left side of his forehead, finalizing his passing. With the event finished, a thanks was given to Acanthus through a ritual, followed by celebration occurred. Yet Kitahachi, as with few others disliked the idea of a ‘fun celebration,’ and so, he did not participate. Two months passed, and his genin exam came. Simply passing, he moved on as a genin, finding a place within a squad. His mastery over clan techniques increased, and more about his duty as Oji was revealed to him. Assisting his sister through the academy, training with other clan mates, assisting his father strengthen and guide the clan, training with his squad and sensei, learning, preparing, missions, mastering jutsu, and very little free time. His first year as a genin consisted of this. He matured quickly, and soon enough, he received a loss. Death happened around him, yet one hit him hard. His squadmate, one of few whom he had grown close and opened up to had fallen in battle, during a mission which he was not present for. He spiralled into depression, his already down mood dropping considerably. He had never been a truly happy child, not since that day which forever mocked him, and now it worsened. To make matters worse, he quickly found rivalry with his fallen comrade’s replacement- which soon spiralled into hatred through the constant mocking of his younger sister. The two only worked together as a necessity, and somehow made it through their second year as genin. Kitahachi’s third, and final genin year seemed to pass by slowly. It was about the same as the previous year, yet now came Chuunin Exam preparations. They seemed to last forever. Finally, a now thirteen year old Kitahachi was to take the Chuunin exams in Sunagakure. He and his squad arrived the day of exams, and were given little time to prepare. The squads were sent into the desert alone, left for a week. Kitahachi and his squad immediately began the search for water, something he expected would be greatly fought for over the week. Once they found it, they filled up what containers they could, and headed off. Everyone continually grew weaker as the week passed, and finally, Kitahachi met a foreign squad. The two squads clashed, and at the end, only two remained standing. During the fight, Kitahachi’s squadmate was buried in sand. There, she slowly suffocated as he teammates could not help. With their enemies dead and gone, they did what they could to mark her grave before continuing on. As the final, seventh day arrived, the two boys, exhausted and broken, slowly made their way to their exits…They had formed a bond, through their experience. They had crossed the desert during a week, and survived. With the horrid desert behind them, Kitahachi soon learned of the second phase. In two days, they would fight. The days passed quickly, and soon enough Kitahachi was announced as Chuunin. All that was left, was to return home to Kusagakure. Another year passed, and Kitahachi received more news. He was no longer to be the Hikozaemon heir. His sister was. He was being sent away, to the quickly growing village of Hikagakure, where he would create another branch of the clan. As his father's word was absolute, he was sent off just a few days later. Personality Kitahachi is distant, and usually serious in most matters. Being dedicated to his clan, he rarely has time for other things, other than writing his book. Though he is often isolated and 'depressive,' he can be a good leader when needed, yet he may be harsh whilst doing so. Appearance Kitahachi has long black hair, tied into a ponytail which hangs loosely, reaching just below his shoulders. His hair reaches below his ears, (think of Utakata, but over his ears) and comes down to his nose(can reach his mouth when straightened), covering his left eye- though his right side is completely uncovered. There is a diagonal scar across his right eye and the Hikozaemon symbol is engraved on the left side of his forehead. His combat apparel consists of a basic- usually unzipped- Chunin vest with scroll pouches overtop a fish-net shirt, with a black cape' (idk its actual name..) reaching from his waist(On the back of it) to his ankles. His Hikagakure headband is around his left arm. As well, a small scroll- one of many summoning scrolls for the Hikozaemon- hangs from his belt at the back of his waist, and a small packet which can hold a book is usually on the left side of his waist. Finally, a necklace with ‘Acanthus’ seal’ hangs from his neck. Abilities (replace with text) Ability #1 (replace with text) Ability #2 (replace with text) Accolades (replace with text) Quotes (replace with text)